On Tuesday, Tim Kennedy announced his retirement from MMA with a lengthy Facebook post. Kennedy first entered the Fight Matrix rankings in 2003 as the #42 middleweight. The following chart shows his Quarterly Generated Historical Ranking for his career.
Significant dates:
Defeated Michael Bisping on April 16, 2014
Defeated Robbie Lawler on July 30, 2011
Strikeforce debut on June 19, 2009
IFL debut on Feb. 23, 2007
| Monday, May 4th 2026: Deep 131 Impact: 25th Anniversary | |||
 [#2 SW] Sora Sugiyama | [#14 SW] Sukai China | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 12/14/2025 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#6 SW] Haruo Ochi Last 5: - - W W W | Last Fight Date: 3/08/2026 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [NR] Musashi Musashi Last 5: W W W W W | ||
| Friday, March 20th 2026: PFL Madrid: Van Steenis vs. Edwards 2 | |||
 [#8 MW] Costello Van Steenis (-132) |  [#12 MW] Fabian Edwards (+107) | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 7/19/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#13 MW] Johnny Eblen Last 5: W L W W W | Last Fight Date: 8/21/2025 [PFL] Last Opponent: [#27 MW] Dalton Rosta Last 5: W L W W W | ||
| Sunday, April 12th 2026: RIZIN LANDMARK 13 in FUKUOKA | |||
 [#24 W115] Natalia Kuziutina | [#7 W105] Ayaka Hamasaki | ||
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| Last Fight Date: 8/16/2025 [Ural Fighting Championship] Last Opponent: [#75 W115] Rose Conceicao Last 5: W W W W W | Last Fight Date: 11/23/2025 [DEEP] Last Opponent: [#14 W105] Ye Ji Lee Last 5: W L W L W | ||
| [#255 WW] |  Rustambek Nurzhanov | [#841 LW] | Daniel Holt | |
| [#2 LW] |  Charles Oliveira | [#1 LW] |  Ilia Topuria | |
| [#18 FW] | Kyoma Akimoto | [#361 HW] |  Tony Lopez | |
| [#80 FW] |  Marwan Rahiki | [#26 LHW] |  Ion Cutelaba | |
| [#90 HW] |  Jovan Leka | [#40 LHW] |  Oumar Sy |
Featherweight (145)
[#35] Yair Rodriguez (9-1-0, -477) vs. [*] B.J. Penn (16-10-2, +357)
B.J. Penn is the All-Time #7 ranked Absolute fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Yair Rodriguez (3-0-0)
2016-08-06: W vs. [#79FW] Alex Caceres (12-9-0) via SD (46-49, 48-47, 48-47)
2016-04-23: W vs. [#29FW] Andre Fili (16-4-0) via KO (Head Kick) in 2:15 of round 2
2015-10-03: W vs. [#105FW] Dan Hooker (13-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Last 3 Fights: B.J. Penn (0-3-0)
2014-07-06: L vs. [#3FW] Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) via TKO (Punches) in 4:16 of round 3
2012-12-08: L vs. [#11WW] Rory MacDonald (18-4-0) via UD (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
2011-10-29: L vs. [*] Nick Diaz (26-9-0) via UD (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Yair Rodriguez 162, B.J. Penn 924
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Lightweight (155)
[#23] Marcin Held (22-5-0, +113) vs. [#25] Joe Lauzon (26-12-0, -137)
Last 3 Fights: Marcin Held (1-2-0)
2016-11-05: L vs. [#20LW] Diego Sanchez (27-9-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2016-05-20: W vs. [#46LW] Dave Jansen (20-4-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
2015-11-06: L vs. [#12LW] Will Brooks (18-2-0) via UD (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Last 3 Fights: Joe Lauzon (1-2-0)
2016-08-27: L vs. [#17LW] Jim Miller (28-8-0) via SD (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
2016-07-09: W vs. [#20LW] Diego Sanchez (27-9-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:26 of round 1
2015-12-11: L vs. [#15LW] Evan Dunham (18-6-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Marcin Held 71, Joe Lauzon 141
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Joe Lauzon leads 1-0
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Welterweight (170)
[#41] Ben Saunders (20-7-2, -115) vs. [#87] Court McGee (18-5-0, -108)
Last 3 Fights: Ben Saunders (2-1-0)
2016-09-09: W vs. [#123WW] Jacob Volkmann (19-7-0) via Submission (Armbar) in 0:17 of round 1
2016-01-17: L vs. [#24WW] Patrick Cote (23-10-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:14 of round 2
2015-07-25: W vs. [#53WW] Kenny Robertson (15-5-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Last 3 Fights: Court McGee (2-1-0)
2016-08-06: W vs. [#132WW] Dominique Steele (14-8-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
2016-04-16: L vs. [#32WW] Santiago Ponzinibbio (23-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:15 of round 1
2015-12-12: W vs. [#123MW] Marcio Alexandre Jr. (14-3-0) via UD (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Ben Saunders 128, Court McGee 162
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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As a recap, most “Fighter of the Year” awards on other sites are really “Breakout Fighter of the Year” awards in that fighters who win, were usually not top fighters in the beginning of the year, but became so by the end of the year.
A fighter like this can and has won our FotY awards, but our award is more about maintaining a high standing during the award year by performing well a sufficient number of times and against a sufficient quality of opponents. It is more comparable to a season MVP in major team sports, not a playoffs/surprise MVP.
Winner: Stipe Miocic
Another fairly tight call, Miocic takes it with a 3-0 year, all being decisive victories with a title win and title defense.
Runner-Up: Michael Bisping
You couldn’t have went wrong putting Bisping at #1, who also went 3-0 with a title win and title defense. The difference being that two of his victories were extremely close against two legends of the sport at the very end of their respective careers.
3rd Place: Demetrious Johnson
DJ gets third place for the second straight year. I’m sure many would expect to see Conor here, but DJ is just one of a few fighters who had two decisive title wins in the year without a loss.
As a recap, most “Fighter of the Year” awards on other sites are really “Breakout Fighter of the Year” awards in that fighters who win, were usually not top fighters in the beginning of the year, but became so by the end of the year.
A fighter like this can and has won our FotY awards, but our award is more about maintaining a high standing during the award year by performing well a sufficient number of times and against a sufficient quality of opponents. It is more comparable to a season MVP in major team sports, not a playoffs/surprise MVP.
Winner: Amanda Nunes
Nunes broke all kinds of barriers in 2016… the sexual preference, the woman to retire Tate and possibly Rousey, but to win and defend the title in the same year is “fighter of the year” material.
Runner-Up: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna repeats again at the #2 spot. Like Cyborg, her robotic dominance can sometimes be lost behind the front page, but only fighting twice in a year is a small piece in that unfortunate reality.
3rd Place: Cristiane Justino
A relatively dull year (again), but status quo for her (again). With the 145 division opening up, there’s a chance for her to really start to show her worth, but the recently failed drug test casts a dark cloud over all of that.
Men: Jose Torres
It is very slim pickings on the men’s side of the award, but Jose Torres made the Top 100 and fought for Titan FC.
Honorable Mentions: Adilson Ramos
Women: Gabi Garcia
She’s a fighter without a division, but one that ran up a 4-0 record. The competition was extremely lackluster, but the early career prospect building system just isn’t there for MMA and especially not for the women.
Honorable Mention: Syuri Kondo, Amber Leibrock
Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Emil Weber Meek
Meek pulled off a dominant victory over Rousimar Palhares in the upset of the year and followed it up with a victory of Jordan Mein in the UFC. After averaging a rank of approximately #450 in 2015, he is now a borderline Top 10 fighter in the division with a UFC contract.
Note: We have two ways that we derive biggest “upsets” based on points difference between winner and loser.
“Most Noteworthy” (X minus Y)
“Most Lopsided” (X divided by Y)
Most Noteworthy: Stipe Miocic KO(1) Fabricio Werdum
Werdum had a massive point advantage over Miocic prior to the fight, but in this case, it meant nothing.
Most Lopsided: Emil Weber Meek KO(1) Rousimar Palhares
This fight is more truer to the definition of an actual “upset” than the one above, but this is why we slice this award in two different ways.
Most Noteworthy Match of the Year:
Michael Bisping KO(1) Luke Rockhold
The “most noteworthy” match of the year isn’t about box office or the popular scene, instead it is a pretty basic calculation — a sum of quality if you will. Luke Rockhold finds himself in the most noteworthy match for the second straight year, but this time on the losing end. This is also the 4th straight winner in the Middleweight division, which speaks largely of its depth at the elite level.
As a refresher, our “Comeback” award is about coming back from inactivity or major injury (that we know about) and in doing so, really impressing. You can see more details at the bottom of the post about specific qualifiers.
Comeback Fighter of the Year: Dominick Cruz
Yet another ACL tear cost Cruz over 15 months away from the sport, but he returned to take the championship by defeating Dillashaw in January. Although Cruz lost the title to Garbrandt at the very end of 2016, it’s hard to argue a better candidate for this award.
Honorable Mention: Khabib Nurmagomedov
Women Bantamweight (135)
[#1/#2DD/#3P4P] Amanda Nunes (13-4-0, +116) vs. [#2/#5DD/#5P4P] Ronda Rousey (12-1-0, -139)
Amanda Nunes is the All-Time #14 ranked Women’s fighter.
Ronda Rousey is the All-Time #1 ranked Women’s fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Amanda Nunes (3-0-0)
2016-07-09: W vs. [*] Miesha Tate (18-7-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:16 of round 1
2016-03-05: W vs. [#4BW/#7DD/#9P4P] Valentina Shevchenko (13-2-0) via UD (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
2015-08-08: W vs. [#6BW] Sara McMann (10-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:53 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Ronda Rousey (2-1-0)
2015-11-14: L vs. [#5BW/#10DD] Holly Holm (10-2-0) via KO (Head Kick and Punches) in 0:59 of round 2
2015-08-01: W vs. [#13BW] Bethe Correia (10-2-0) via KO (Punch) in 0:34 of round 1
2015-02-28: W vs. [#12BW] Cat Zingano (9-2-0) via Submission (Straight Armbar) in 0:14 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Amanda Nunes 174, Ronda Rousey 412
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Ronda Rousey leads 8-4
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Bantamweight (135)
[#1/#4P4P] Dominick Cruz (22-1-0, -213) vs. [#9] Cody Garbrandt (10-0-0, +174)
Dominick Cruz is the All-Time #1 ranked Bantamweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: Dominick Cruz (3-0-0)
2016-06-04: W vs. [*] Urijah Faber (34-10-0) via UD (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
2016-01-17: W vs. [#2BW/#9P4P] T.J. Dillashaw (13-3-0) via SD (46-49, 48-47, 49-46)
2014-09-27: W vs. [#38BW] Takeya Mizugaki (21-11-2) via KO (Punches) in 1:01 of round 1
Last 3 Fights: Cody Garbrandt (3-0-0)
2016-08-20: W vs. [#38BW] Takeya Mizugaki (21-11-2) via TKO (Punches) in 0:48 of round 1
2016-05-29: W vs. [#24BW] Thomas Almeida (21-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:53 of round 1
2016-02-21: W vs. [#261BW] Augusto Mendes (5-1-0) via KO (Punches) in 4:18 of round 1
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Dominick Cruz 209, Cody Garbrandt 132
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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Bantamweight (135)
[#2/#9P4P] T.J. Dillashaw (13-3-0, -247) vs. [#5] John Lineker (29-7-0, +199)
T.J. Dillashaw is the All-Time #4 ranked Bantamweight fighter.
Last 3 Fights: T.J. Dillashaw (2-1-0)
2016-07-09: W vs. [#21BW] Raphael Assuncao (23-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2016-01-17: L vs. [#1BW/#4P4P] Dominick Cruz (22-1-0) via SD (46-49, 48-47, 49-46)
2015-07-25: W vs. [#16FW] Renan Barao (34-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:35 of round 4
Last 3 Fights: John Lineker (3-0-0)
2016-10-01: W vs. [#10BW] John Dodson (18-8-0) via SD (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
2016-07-13: W vs. [#31BW] Michael McDonald (17-4-0) via KO (Punches) in 2:43 of round 1
2016-05-14: W vs. [#30BW] Rob Font (13-2-0) via UD (30-26, 29-28, 30-27)
Days Since Last Pro Fight: T.J. Dillashaw 174, John Lineker 90
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: John Lineker leads 1-0
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